Car Review: 2000 Saab 9-5 Aero

2000 Saab 9-5

Handout, Saab

by
Brian Harper, Canwest News Service | August 10, 2011

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Saab’s new 9-3 Viggen high-performance sedan, coupe and convertible might be the halo car the Swedish manufacturer needs to renew brand awareness of its model lineup, but it’s the equally new 9-5 Aero that will impress potential buyers interested enough to take one for a test drive.

First introduced two years ago, the 9-5 is Saab’s flagship, a replacement for the 9000 that gave Saab its introduction to the luxury car segment during its 13-year run. In standard forms, the 9-5 is powered by either a light-pressure turbocharged, 2.3-litre DOHC 4-cylinder, good for 170 hp, or – in the SE – a 3.0-litre turbo DOHC V6, with 200 hp to tap. The Aero name, mentions Australian Peter Leonard, head of Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) for Saab Automobile AG in Sweden, denotes a higher-performance variant that builds on the luxury amenities of the 9-5 sedan (an Aero edition of the 9-5 wagon is a year away). “The Aero is positioned as a top-of-the-line car. There’s more sport to it, but there are no compromises to luxury.” The company has applied the Aero name before; first to the 900 in 1984, and later to the 9000.

To transform a regulation 9-5 into the $54,465 Aero, SVO tweaks the chassis, upgrades the brakes, adds 17-inch alloy wheels with low profile tires, and drops a higher-output motor into the engine bay.

The motor, in this case, is the same as in the smaller 9-3 Viggen, a 230 hp rendering of the 2.3-litre turbo 4. The engine develops 243 ft.-lb. of torque with the 4-speed automatic (258 ft.-lb. when bolted to an available 5-speed manual) from 1,900 through to 4,600 rpm. This plateau of maximum torque provides performance certainly on par with a number of European rivals.

A 5-speed 9-5 Aero, Leonard says, will reach 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds and accelerate from 60 to 100 km/h – in 4th gear – in 6.5 seconds. However, it’s not how fast the Aero moves that does the convincing, it’s the smoothness of the effort. Thanks to Saab’s Trionic 7 engine management system, direct ignition, fuel injection, turbo boost pressure and throttle setting are all monitored and controlled. And the time between the foot pressing on the gas pedal and the engine responding to the turbocharger’s extra force – known as “turbo lag” and affecting most turbo’d engines to some degree – is, for all intents and purposes, eliminated.

Complementing the engine’s extra urge are modifications to the Aero chassis. Compared with other 9-5s, the Aero is 10 mm lower. Front and rear suspensions are equipped with heavier anti-roll bars, stiffer springs and harder dampers in order to minimize body roll and improve driver control.

Unlike the overt external enhancements to the Viggen, the Aero is far subtler. A front air dam, flared rocker panels and rear valence are the only additions to the 9-5’s body, in addition to stylish 17-inch alloy wheels.

There’s little doubt that the Aero, like the Viggen, are the start of Saab’s efforts to create niche versions from what is, essentially, a two-model lineup. As performance cars, these two new specialty vehicles can’t help but generate additional consumer traffic to Saturn-Saab-Isuzu dealerships. Unfortunately, it is going to take a far more concerted marketing effort (i.e.; a lot more money) on GM’s part to create top-of-mind brand awareness. As initial attempts go, however, the Aero and Viggen will reward the curious.